The UN
The United Nations is an international organization that was started in 1945 after World War II
to replace the League of Nations. It was started to stop wars between countries, and to give a
platform for discussion. It consists of 51 countries, and each of these countries were
committed to assisting cooperation in economic development, social progress, international
peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations, promoting social progress,
human rights, promoting better living standards, and the achieving of world peace.
Main Bodies
The United Nations has six different main bodies. General Assembly, Economic
and Social Council, International Court of Justice, Security Council,
Trusteeship Council, and Secretariat.
General Assembly
Created in 1945 under the Charter of the United Nations, the General
Assembly has the position as the chief deliberative, policymaking and
representative organ of the United Nations. Including all192 Members of the
United Nations, it gives a platform for multilateral discussion of several
international issues covered by the Charter.
The General Assembly also plays a significant role in the process of standardsetting and the designation of international law.
Economic and Social Council
ECOSOC was established under the United Nations Charter as the principal organ to
coordinate economic, social, and related work of the 14 UN specialized agencies,
functional commissions and five regional commissions. It is responsible for:
 promoting higher standards of living, full employment, and economic and social
progress;
 identifying solutions to international economic, social and health problems
 Assisting international cultural and educational cooperation
 encouraging universal respect for human rights and essential freedoms.
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the
United Nations and began work in April 1946. It is the principal judicial organ of the
United Nations.
The Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Out of The six main organs
of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York.
The Court’s role is to settle, in unity with international law, legal disputes submitted to
it by States and to give suggestive opinions on legal questions referred by authorized
United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by
the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. It is assisted by a
Registry, its administrative organ. Its official languages are English and French.
Trusteeship Council
Under the Charter, the Trusteeship Council is authorized to examine and
discuss reports from the Administering Authority on the political, economic,
social and educational advancement of the peoples of Trust Territories and, in
consultation with the Administering Authority, to examine petitions from and
undertake periodic and other special missions to Trust Territories.
The Secretariat
The Secretariat is an international staff working in duty stations around the world. They
carry out the diverse day-to-day work of the Organization. It services the other main
bodies of the United Nations and administers the programmes and policies laid down by
them.
The duties carried out by the Secretariat are as varied as the problems dealt with by the
United Nations. These range from administering peacekeeping operations to mediating
international disputes, from surveying economic and social trends and problems to
preparing studies on human rights and sustainable development. Secretariat staff also
inform the world's communications media about the work of the United Nations;
organize international conferences on issues of worldwide concern; and interpret
speeches and translate documents into the Organization's official languages.
Security Council
The Security Council held its first session on 17 January 1946 at Church House, London.
Since its first meeting, the Council, which is in continuous session, has traveled widely,
holding meetings in many cities, such as Paris and Addis Ababa, and its home in New
York City. The Security Council is responsible with the maintenance of international
peace and security. There are 15 members of the Security Council, consisting of 5 vetowielding permanent members (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and United
States) and 10 elected non-permanent members with two-year terms. This basic
structure is set out in Chapter V of the UN Charter. Security Council members must
always be present at UN headquarters in New York so that the Security Council can meet
at any time. This requirement of the United Nations Charter was adopted to address a
weakness of the League of Nations since that organization was often unable to respond
quickly to a crisis.
The United Nations Security Council 'power of veto' refers to the veto power used only
by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. These countries
include China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States. The veto enables
them to prevent the adoption of any substantive draft Council resolution, regardless of
the level of international support for the draft. The veto does not apply to procedural
votes, which is significant in that the Security Council's permanent membership can vote
against a 'procedural' draft resolution, without necessarily blocking its adoption by the
Council.
The veto is exercised when any permanent member of the P5 casts a "negative" vote on
a 'substantive' draft resolution. Abstention, or absence from the vote by a permanent
member does not prevent a draft resolution from being adopted.
Secretary General
On 1 January 2007, Ban Kimoon of the Republic of Korea
became the eighth SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations,
bringing to his post 37 years of
service both in Government and
on the global stage.
Activities
 World Food Program
WFP has developed expertise in a range of areas including Food Security Analysis, Nutrition, Food
Procurement and Logistics to ensure the best solutions for the world's hungry. In 2010, WFP aims
to bring food assistance to more than 90 million people in 73 countries. WFP's strategic plan lays
out five objectives and all our work is geared towards achieving them. They are:
• Save lives and protect livelihoods in emergencies
• Prepare for emergencies
• Restore and rebuild lives after emergencies
• Reduce chronic hunger and under nutrition everywhere
• Strengthen the capacity of countries to reduce hunger
 United Nations Development Fund for Women
UNIFEM is the women's fund at the United Nations, dedicated to advancing women’s
rights and achieving gender equality. It provides financial and technical assistance to innovative
programmes and strategies that foster women's empowerment
• In support of this goal, UNIFEM works in the following thematic areas:
• enhancing women’s economic security and rights,
• ending violence against women,
• reducing the prevalence of HIV and AIDS among women and girls, and
• advancing gender justice in democratic governance in stable and fragile states.
My Opinion
When I first started researching the UN, I already had this
preconceived notion in my mind that the UN was just an
apathetic, and useless organization that was trying, and
failing at changing the world. I had those opinions because
that is what a lot of the Media says.You really only hear the
bad things, like the fail of a mission in Rwanda; and because
of those things I was sure I was going to find nothing but
disappointing facts about the UN. But I found so much more
than that.Yes, they have had some missions that have failed,
but more often than not, they have had great
accomplishments. The UN does more than peacekeeping,
they are changing our world for the better, and I’m really
starting to believe in what they are doing. Even though I still
will have some scepticism towards the way they peacekeep,
I’ve learned this lesson to have an open mind when it comes
to the UN, because they really are doing great things. They
are bringing hope to the world. Helping us believe that
more can, and will be done to fix what has been broken in
our world
-- Carmen Halliday